Seoul, South Korea-based agricultural biotech startup E Green Global (EGG) has secured US$ 9.2M in a funding round held in December 2020, from YD-SK-KDB Social Value Fund.
Proceeds from the funding round will be used by the startup to expand its production unit to supply seed potatoes to its US and Chinese customers, with whom it has signed a contract valued at US$ 92M. The fresh funds will also be used for research and development (R&D) in areas such as technology related to biological resources, application of AI and smart farming in agriculture and combined research on other food crops.
Founded in 2009, EGG is an agri-tech startup that leverages the plant factory platform to increase the productivity of several agricultural products. EGG claims to be the only startup that has successfully enabled “Lab-to-Farm” seed potatoes on a worldwide scale. It has established the plant factory platform where virus-free microtubers (bean-sized seed potatoes) are produced in bulk in a bio-secured lab with environmental control systems through in vitro (tissue culturing of plantlets in sterilized vessels) which are then directly planted in open ground to produce virus-free high-quality seed potatoes in a shorter duration of time compared to the conventional method (the conventional one requires 5 years, while EGG’s technique requires only 1 or 2 years) at a modest price and good productivity. This has enabled it to obtain long-term contracts to supply seed potatoes across China and the US while at the same time expanding its business to Europe and the Middle East.
The startup aims to become the front-runner of the global market for seed potatoes by breaking the intrinsic limits of its supply chain, which is important to enhance its production.
About the YD-SK-KDB Social Value Fund
The YD-SK-KDB Social Value Fund was jointly established by SKS PE (a subsidiary of Korean corporation SK Group), Korea Development Bank and impact venture capital firm Yellowdog in November 2019. It invests in social startups that contribute to accomplishing the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals.
A spokesperson from the fund said nobody had been effective in commercializing the MCT (Microtuber Technology) for decades, yet EGG made it possible with its determination and commitment to its mission of alleviating one of the major problems of the world – hunger. He further added that they look forward to the positive social impact EGG will make, as it takes part in resolving the worldwide food problem by enhancing the quality and productivity of major food crops as well as contributing to developing crops that are strong enough to not get affected by the climate change.
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